Life's Victories: Christy Williamson

It was nearly 10 years ago when I heard the words "Well, it's cancer." I was 33 years old, single, and not in living in the same city as my family. I had watched my grandmother battle the disease many years before, and I'll never forget brushing her hair, and watching the pieces fall out into my hands. I was scared.

I wondered what a life without breasts would look like.

As it turns out, it isn't as bad as I feared. Sure, pushups don't come as easily as they once did, and plunging necklines don't carry the wow factor they did in the pre-breast cancer days...but who really needs toned arms and a sassy Friday night shirt? My scars stand as a reminder of the odds that were stacked against me that I overcame with some amazing doctors and the love of family, friends, my pinks (the other cancer girls I have met along the way who have made me laugh and have shared my tears), and my Laura (my amazing best friend who was diagnosed 6 months after I was, and fought this disease bravely and beautifully for 3 1/2 years.)

I'm married now, to a wonderful man who lost his mom to breast cancer when he was 14 years old. He doesn't care about my scars. He's just happy I'm alive. We have a beautiful 2 1/2 year old boy who thinks my implants are hilarious to push on.